High Court halts investigation, orders Police to register crimes under new laws [Read Order]

Karnataka: The High Court of Karnataka has issued a significant order staying the investigation in a criminal case and directing the police to register crimes under the newly implemented Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of the old Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A bench comprising Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order in a petition filed by two accused, challenging the registration of a crime against them on July 1, 2024.

The court noted that the case stemmed from a previous writ petition filed by one of the accused, which had been disposed of with directions to the authorities to take appropriate action on the petitioners application for land-related matters. When these orders were not implemented, the petitioners had to file a contempt petition.

Subsequently, a criminal case was registered against the petitioners by the respondent against whom the earlier court orders were passed. The court observed, Surprisingly, the police appeared to be unaware of the IPC having been replaced by the BNS from 01.07.2024.

Referring to the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that replaced the Indian Penal Code from July 1, 2024, the court pointed out that the offences should have been registered under the corresponding sections of the BNS rather than the old IPC sections.

Since the crime was registered on 01.07.2024, it ought to have been registered for the corresponding offences under the BNS, the court stated.

The High Court directed an interim stay of further investigation in the case against the petitioners. Additionally, the court instructed: There shall be a direction to the State to sensitize all jurisdictional stations to henceforth register crimes only under the BNS and not the IPC.
 

[Read Order]